


laundry days

by unkinsei



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Magical Realism, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-04
Updated: 2015-01-04
Packaged: 2018-03-05 06:05:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3108836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unkinsei/pseuds/unkinsei
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ohno is forced to chase after his laundry day after day. It's not his fault they prefer Jun’s apartment — but is it really just his clothes that are making all the decisions?</p>
            </blockquote>





	laundry days

**Author's Note:**

> 50 je-prompts: #020. same. Inspired by the Hitachi CM.

****Ohno realises he has a problem when he catches his laundry sneaking out through the balcony. ****

At first he was just losing a sock here and there, nothing too big. But things soon snowballed and now his favourite pair of jeans are gone, without even a goodbye.

“It’s ridiculous,” he mumbles down at his last remaining sweatshirt, which murmurs back sympathetically. Little is he to know that after the next week’s load of laundry, his sweatshirt would be nowhere to be found.

Ohno rings his mother and thanks her for buying all those clothes that never leave the bottom of his drawers (and which prefer it that way; they’re grumpy and old by now). She snorts at the belated gratitude and reminds him that she knows exactly what sort of shirt is right for him and which pants have a bad attitude, and that he’d never get the hang of it. It’s true; the one time he bought a pair of boxers they were at first perfectly behaved, but within a month were pulling pranks on him by, well, pulling down.

He begins the hunt for his laundry. After asking the landlord and getting no leads, he starts knocking on the doors of his neighbours. Ohno soon discovers that people are quick to suggest that he buy better-behaved clothing from somewhere more expensive than the three hundred yen store. Ohno, offended on his mother’s behalf, even more quickly decides not to talk to these neighbours again.

Knocking on the door third down from his, a voice calls out, “Coming!” When the door is opened Ohno is greeted with the scrumptious smell of something baking. He is also greeted by a man in a cooking apron with oven mitts stuffed in the large pocket on the front, pushing up his thick rim glasses. He notices how pretty his hands are.

“How can I help you?” the man asks.

“I’m looking for my laundry, have you seen it anywhere?” Ohno refrains from asking what is in the oven.

The man startles, and his eyes grow even bigger than they already are. “Oh! Well— Do you want to come in?”

Ohno practically floats inside. He begins to head towards the kitchen, but the man stops him. “The laundry room is this way.”

Clicking the light on, the man holds the door open for him. Ohno cautiously goes inside.

He finds his clothes neatly folded and purring contently in a laundry basket. He turns back to look at the man in confusion.

The man’s cheeks and neck are splotched pink. “I couldn’t say no to them.”

 

* * *

 

The man’s name is Matsumoto Jun, and Ohno’s laundry has been coming to him for weeks now to be washed.

“At first I didn’t even realise I had extra clothes in my load,” Jun explains as he hoists up the laundry basket and takes it to the front door for him. “Then I realised that either my jeans had shrunk in the wash, or they didn’t belong to me.”

“Don’t worry about it, I didn’t even realise they were going missing until two weeks ago,” Ohno smiles reassuringly. He watches Jun visibly relax; he assumes because he is no longer afraid of being mistaken as a creepy laundry kidnapper.

“Oh, wait a second,” Jun says, leaving Ohno holding on the laundry basket with both arms. He returns with a cling-wrapped plate of gingerbread men that he places on top of the pile of laundry gently. “They’re freshly baked,” he says proudly.

“I’m sure they’re delicious,” Ohno says.

“Maybe eat them first, then tell me what you think,” Jun replies dryly.

He does; he has them as an afternoon snack the next day after his last calligraphy class is over. Despite not being one for snacks (or eating much at all, once his mind is filled with ink and brush strokes) he finishes them all off, relishing the simple but genuine flavour, the refreshingly sharp tang of the ginger making him reach for one after another. Soon the plate only contains a few crumbs.

Ohno sets down a fresh piece of paper and with brush in hand, straightens his back and takes a deep breath. With utmost care, he writes ‘delicious’.

The calligraphy is given to a thoroughly pleased Jun when he returns from the studio, who soon has it framed and hung in the kitchen.

 

* * *

 

It becomes something of a weekly ritual to chase after his laundry. Most of the time they sneak out while he’s at the studio, but sometimes they wait until the weekend, almost cheekily, to make a break for it. Ohno running after his ink-splattered clothes becomes a common sight in the apartment block.

Thankfully for Ohno, Jun isn’t too worked up about the extra washing. His clothes are mostly darks and denims so they’re easy to sort, plus Ohno helps with hanging the clothes up to dry as well as folding them. After the chores Jun treats him with a hot chocolate and the latest dish he is practicing, despite Ohno not being the most helpful critic (“It’s delicious!”).

Ohno knocking on his door asking for both him and his laundry to be let in becomes such a regular occurrence that Jun begins leaving his apartment unlocked on weekend mornings.

One day he comes in a little later than usual and catches Jun preparing lunch in the kitchen while the clothes unpeg and fold themselves. He is flabbergasted. “So we didn’t actually have to do the chores?”

Jun almost drops his knife in surprise, and mutters that it was fun being able to do the laundry together. Ohno is placated.

 

* * *

 

Jun admits that he may be attracted to one of his neighbours while eating homemade mabo tofu in his friends’ living room.

“Oh god, was it love at first sight or something _equally_ horrible?” Nino looks disgusted and leans back in an attempt to let the couch swallow him.

“Don’t listen to Nino, Matsujun. He doesn’t like to admit it, but he totally fell me at first sight,” Aiba says proudly, earning himself a hard punch in the arm.

“Are you sure about this guy? Like, the only reason I’m with Aiba-san now is because he invaded every aspect of my life without any respect for my personal space. I didn’t have a choice.”

“Yes, I’m sure. Well, I think so. The guy can’t be so bad — I mean, his clothes adore him.”

“Just not being laundered in his own apartment,” Aiba confirms, his expression quizzical.

Jun suddenly looks unsure. “Good sign, right?”

“Never doubt the opinion of a man’s underwear. But you do realise,” Nino says from the gap between the couch cushions, “that this means we have to meet him, right?” 

 

* * *

 

Ohno meets Aiba and Nino when he comes into the apartment and they are lying on Jun’s sofa watching a game show on TV. He quickly replaces the television as their source of entertainment as they bombard him with questions about his work, hobbies and why he’s so tanned.

“So why do your clothes prefer being washed at Matsujun’s?” Aiba asks.

Ohno realises that actually, he’s not entirely sure. To this answer Aiba frowns, his curiosity evidently unsatiated. Nino rolls his eyes and announces that it’s time to get going.

As they leave, Aiba gives Ohno a big hug and a shamefully obvious wink to Jun. Nino says goodbye by squeezing one of his buttcheeks fondly. They leave behind Jun with a palm to his face and Ohno thinking hard, his mouth in a tiny pout.

“Why do my clothes come here?”

After a little hesitation, Jun says, “It was my laundry machine at first, I think. My old one broke down and the landlord had to replace it. But now they’re probably just used to my laundry powder and wash settings. Not to mention they like teasing you.”

The moment Ohno says, “Then I could just use the same laundry powder as you,” he feels a little twinge of doubt at the back of his mind, but before he can say anything else Jun has headed into the laundry room.

He returns with an unopened box of laundry powder. “Maybe this will make them feel a little more at ease back home?”

Ohno tries washing a load the next morning. His clothes are content to be folded as he unloads them from the dryer.

 

* * *

 

Ohno’s clothes are finally satisfied with staying at home. Ohno realises he isn’t.

 

* * *

 

“Sho-chan, I found someone I like,” Ohno says fuzzily after a couple of beers and a heavy dinner of yakiniku.

Sho looks surprised, but pleased. When he sees his face, with a splotch of teriyaki sauce on the corner of his mouth, Ohno sleepily remembers why he likes to think of Sho as his mother away from home.

“What does he do for a living?” He asks as he taps Ohno on the shoulder to make him sit up straight.

“Actually, I don’t really know. There’s a lot more I want to know about him,” Ohno muses. Sho looks alarmed and suggests that perhaps he should meet this ‘Matsujun’ person, so how about they organise an evening to meet?

Ohno says he’ll get back to him about the date.

 

* * *

 

He’s looked both ways twice and made sure that the hallway is empty before sneaking out with a pile of laundry in his arms.

Outside Jun’s apartment door, he crouches down and sets the clothes down on the floor. With a little prod he nudges them up, whispering, “You guys can go under the door, right?”

“I’m sure they can, unlike someone who should just knock.” Ohno looks around to see Jun standing behind him, one hand holding a shopping bag and the other on his hip.

Ohno speaks slowly, figuring out his words as he looks up at Jun. “My laundry’s fine without you. But I’m not. I just didn’t want this, thing, to stop.”

Jun sets his shopping bag down and crouches down to be face to face with Ohno and says, “Your laundry doesn’t have to be an excuse to come over,” before giving him a kiss.

 

* * *

 

It’s Sunday morning, and rather than clothes getting laundered today, it’s Jun’s bedding instead.

While they make and enjoy a lunch of spaghetti carbonara and a chardonnay which Jun insists goes perfectly with the meal, the laundry quickly dries under the warm sunlight and fresh breeze. Jun looks pleased at his chores being ended early, as he motions for Ohno to help him unpeg it from the line.

They manage to get the bedsheets on before Jun gives in to the inviting bed and after-lunch drowsiness. He pulls the duvet cover up and around himself, then looks up at Ohno with a sleepy smile. “This feels perfect.”

Wrapped up in the fresh, clean sheets, Jun looks like an angel to Ohno. He says so. Jun goes a little pink.

“I think the white will look good against your skin,” Jun says, and with a swish and a tug at his wrist Ohno is pulled under the covers with him.

They fall asleep, tangled up in the sheets, together.

Quietly, a pillowcase catches itself on the doorknob and pulls the bedroom door shut with a small _click_.


End file.
